All From the Editors
CommentaryDarkness and light on the netIn the cyberworld, knowledge itself is power and is countered by knowledge. Technology is the accessory.聽In the case of hacking elections, the internet provides a vast and dark new space for countries to carry out the age-old design of tampering with rivals.
CommentaryA crazy way to help save a planetNot every idea will work. Most won鈥檛 change the world all by themselves. But all point to a mental diligence that refuses to sit still and accept the problems of the present as unsolvable.
CommentarySmall-town America鈥檚 most precious resourceFor generations, much of America鈥檚 opportunity was in its boundless rural landscapes 鈥� its rich soil and coal seams. But as that shifts, a new commodity is coming forward as even more valuable to the future of small towns from Storm Lake, Iowa, to Coeur d鈥橝lene, Idaho: new thinking.
CommentaryTrue charityFaith traditions have recognized that charity is more than simply the act of giving. It involves a deeper realization of the connections that bind us all. In giving, we receive. In loving without expectation of return, we learn what love is.聽
CommentaryAnother revolution in LexingtonYou might see something like this in any middle school across the US or beyond. Yet hidden in its seemingly unoffensive positivism is something altogether more radical.
CommentaryThe Russia that Russians seeA Monitor reporter and editor's recent first visits to Russia were nothing less than a revelation.聽The Russia of so many Western imaginings simply isn鈥檛 there.聽
CommentaryTradition, courage, respect 鈥� and one moreThere鈥檚 a lot of hand-wringing聽over US public education at the moment. So why was I thinking it might be fun to be back in high school?
Commentary#HumanityStrongThe story of Refugio is remarkable for the sense of community it shows amid the most trying times. But the truth is that community is always there.
CommentaryEmbracing what鈥檚 next'Security' is a big word. Often, we think about it just in terms of physical safety, secure from crime or war. But there鈥檚 more.
CommentaryWhy we must be globalKnowing about what is going on in Japan or Mexico makes us better global citizens, but it can show us the universality of the human spirit. It can offer potent evidence that 鈥渢he family of man鈥� is not a shallow aphorism but something much deeper and more resonant for human progress.聽
CommentaryOn the train, a moment of graceBetween two people who in all likelihood had wildly different views of what is good for America, there was a moment of grace and humility.聽
CommentarySacrificing self in service to the worldNadia聽Murad鈥檚 story is one of sacrifice in its purest and most powerful form 鈥� an immolation of self for the good of others. In telling her story, she is not only saving the Yazidis she loves, but also a world that must hear what she says and be broken of any sense of indolence about evil.聽
CommentaryGiving action to empathyThe gravitation of trends in communication, culture, and transportation 鈥� all drawing us closer together 鈥� is irreversible.聽This calls for heaping bushels of empathy.聽
CommentarySpace mathFor the scientists of the Cassini mission, math has unrelentingly transformed Saturn from a curious jewel in the night sky into something we have vicariously touched and tasted.
CommentaryRefusing to honor fearThe knowledge of Kim Jong-un鈥檚 ultimate impotence is an important armament of a different sort. It helps weaponize how we think about evil worldwide.
CommentaryLessons from 鈥榯he enemy鈥�When so much information is being flung at us daily, fitting the world into easily canned preconceptions may seem to be the only way to cope 鈥� to make sense of it all.聽But then you read Michael Holtz鈥檚 cover story on China鈥檚 dramatic plans for a new national park system, and the need for something more becomes apparent.
CommentaryBeing brave about the new worldI struggle to see how posting a video of the latest Gylfi Sigur冒sson goal to my Twitter feed, complete with emojis and hashtags, will significantly enrich the world at large.聽This is why I am terrified of my children.聽
CommentaryEthos of rugged independence in Appalachia spurs neighbors to turn to neighborsLocal residents in Gatlinburg, Tenn. have been buoyed by the legions of volunteers who have descended on the place with their good intentions and growling circular saws.
CommentaryStaving off starvationWe sent in three staff writers and a staff photographer to find out what lessons have been learned from past droughts and famines. Aid groups and others are taking steps that are saving individual lives and, in some cases, entire villages.
CommentaryThe question that truly mattersThe real question is, Who is thinking about this in new ways? Who is trying new approaches? Who is not being bound by limitations about what is possible?
